Gonzalo Himiob Santomé is a Criminology, Victimology and Criminal Law Professor, writer and lecturer on Human Rights issues. Founding Partner of Venezuelan law firm Rosich, Himiob, Romero & Associates, where he has been responsible for coordinating legal actions and defense on several cases relating to political persecution in Venezuela, such as the representation of victims of human rights violations on April 11th 2002, as well as the merchants sailors and oil workers illegally arrested on the national strike on 2002-03, former Venezuelan Minister of Finances, General Francisco Usón, Captain Otto Gebauer, General Angel Vivas, former judge Mónica Fernández Sánchez, student leader Yon Goicoechea (Milton Friedman price awarded on 2008), journalist Roger Santodomingo, among others. He is also founding member of NGO VIVE (Venezuelan Victims of Human Rights Violations) and of the Foro Penal Venezolano, an NGO that monitors the Venezuelan criminal judicial system, especially cases involving political prisoners. Foro Penal’s monitoring work has been referenced by the State Department’s Venezuela Country Report on Human Rights since it’s founding in 2004. Mr. Himiob also act as legal advisor to the Student Movement in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador and several other NGOs.
On June 25th 2002 with other lawyers, he filed a legal action at the Venezuelan Supreme Court, requesting a formal investigation regarding the human rights violations on April 2002 in Venezuela, during the protest march against Venezuelan Government, due to the lack of action in Venezuelan Supreme Court, Mr. Himiob and his team were the first Venezuelan lawyers to take action at the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights regarding those facts and they were the first Latin American lawyers to denounce a President on office at the International Criminal Court (The Hague) for crimes against humanity, based on the Rome Statute.
On 2007 he was responsible of the initiative of writing and presenting to the Venezuelan National Assembly the project of “Amnesty and Reconciliation Law” that forced later on December 31st 2007 the Government Law Decree of Amnesty that concluded in the closing of several criminal investigations due to political reasons and the release of several political prisoners.
He is are the defending lawyer of six of the “Caracas Nine”, political persecuted Venezuelan citizens listed as such by Human Rights Foundation, based on New York.
Recently, he is representing several of the student leaders that are now under criminal investigation due to their involvement on the different manifestations against the reform and amendment of Venezuelan Constitution on December 2007 and February 2009.
As a consequence of his human rights activism, both in Venezuela and in the international justice systems, the Venezuelan Government has tagged Mr. Himiob as “Traitor to the Nation” and “Conspirator against the Government”. In July 2003, the President of Venezuela himself requested to the Supreme Court the opening of a criminal investigation against him, his legal team, and the victims they represent. Also, he has been recently suffering attacks from a well known Venezuelan journalist and host of a TV show broadcasted nationwide on the major State TV Station, because he is now representing Eligio Cedeño´s case, who is another political prisoner in Venezuela.